Tuesday, 22 September 2015

A few months back, a friend asked me if I'd heard the new band featuring members of Cult Ritual and Salvation. I had not, however I can definitely say my attention was grabbed. So, he sent me Latishia's Skull Drawing; I was fucking floored. This demo is better (and certainly more visceral) than everything else these guys have put out since the demises of their previously mentioned bands. I'm actually really surprised nobody else has uploaded this yet, considering the people involved, I would've expected this to be on the internet as soon as somebody got a copy. Sadly, that's not what happened.

Latishia's Skull Drawing has a lot going on. I don't want to compare it to the members' previous bands, but some of the sounds they played around with in those bands are here. The darkness and bleakness of Salvation is mixed with the chaotic, no-fucks-given, dirty feel of Cult Ritual, but that's not all. There is something much more sinister at work here. The riffs are dirty and dirging even when played at a fast tempo, and the tempos shift unpredictably which make this thing feel like a total mess in the best way possible. Oh, and there's still plenty of the atonal Black Flag and Void style shredding that we all love. This demo is one of my favorite things I've heard this year, and I'm so happy I can not only finally listen to it in its entirety (thanks to my friend who ripped this and sent it to me, seriously you're a life saver), but I can also share it with you nerds.

Latishia's Skull Drawing should be releasing an LP on Iron Lung Records in the near future, and I can't wait for that thing to drop. Just another release to chalk up there with the incredible shit ILR has put out -- and has scheduled to put out. But I'm done rambling. Have at it.Tracklisting:1. Release2. Bloody Trauma3. Threshold Of Atrocity4. The Nightmare Man5. Vagrant's Prayer6. The Last LaughDOWNLOAD

So, Brayden already did a review for the previous Brainbombs discography post, but I'm going to do another one. Where do I even start with this band? They've been around since 1985 and have released a slow, but steady stream of music since then, along with continuing to play live. In that time, they've managed to be consistent, churning out incredible yet stupid riff after incredible yet stupid riff (but only one per song), and memorable, yet highly problematic lyrics -- the problematic element is definitely what makes them so memorable.

I'm not going to even try to justify their lyrics depicting all sorts of horrific acts, most of which deal with torture, rape, murder, and other terrible things. I could say that Brainbombs' music is intended to express desensitization and work as a commentary and expression of detachment through the use of monotonous, hypnotic repetition and lyrical obscenity; but at the end of the day, regardless of their intentions, you're listening to a band with sick riffs and a guy casually talking in a heavy Swedish accent about murdering someone after they've given him a blowjob. It absolutely contributes to a culture of violence against women by seemingly making light of it, so it's understandable that many people wouldn't want to listen to this.

But most of you don't care about that. What you do care about is stupid riffs played over and over for 6 minutes and going nowhere, sloppy songs that fall apart, apathetic and nihilistic vocals, and of course the fucking trumpet. Basically, if you ever wanted to hear a Swedish version of The Stooges who wanted to emulate Whitehouse, Brainbombs is the perfect band for you. Despite the fact that they've been a band for 30 years at this point, they have lost none of their edge (in both senses) and are still as filthy, disguising, and heavy as ever -- something which unfortunately can't be said for The Stooges.

Okay, so what do I mean by (almost complete) studio discography? It means that I'm not including live recordings, bootlegs, compilations they've been featured on, or collections; all of the EPs are here as they were originally released, except for the 1992 Burning Hell 7" which has an alternate mix of Burning Hell not featured on any other releases (not the live version that I've seen passed off as it). If anyone has that, please let me know, I'm dying to hear it and I'd love to add it to this post.

You probably just skipped all of that to get here, so here's what you get:

Jack the Ripper Lover (1989)

Anne Frank (1990)

Burning Hell (1992)

Genius And Brutality – Taste And Power (1994)

Brainbombs / Anal Babes split (1995)

Obey (1995)

Macht (1998)

Urge To Kill (1999)

Cheap (2001)

Stigma Of The Ripper (2003)

The Grinder (2004)

I Need Speed (2006)

Stinking Memory (2007)

Fucking Mess (2008)

Disposal Of A Dead Body (2013)

It's all in two rar files, so download and have fun accidentally singing along in public.

You may recognize that spectacled figure on left as one Yamazaki Maso, aka Masonna, and yes indeed this is his psychedelic garage punk band, Acid Eater.
Acid Eater is the sound of delay pedals reaching event horizon, dangerous voltages surging through amplifiers and spitting forth walls of feedback and a deranged organ player hammering away at their keys in an orgiastic display of auditory vandalism. All the instruments on Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. have a gloriously warped and distorted quality to them, and the recording is just so ridiculously loud it conjures up images of smoldering amp stacks and speakers billowing smoke. It's as if every sound on this album has been pushed to its absolute limit.
Not unlike Masonna, Acid Eater is a sensory assault - albeit channeled into a much more linear and danceable format. An odd intersection of Japnoise, 60s garage rock/psych and frantic punk thrown into a go-go vortex that teeters on the brink of collapse but never fully succumbs.
I suggest you download this album, find yourself a cool pair of sunglasses and prepare to spend the entire duration of this album thrashing around like a loon. You're in for a treat.

Okay, so this blog hasn't been living up to its name lately, and it's time to change that. What better way than with a collaboration between two of the most important noise bands of all time? You definitely read correctly, this recording features both Hijokaidan and Esplendor Geométrico; they're both doing what they do best, but at the same time complimenting each other's styles. This thing is going to wreck you.

For those of you who don't know, Hijokaidan (非常階段) is essential first wave noise from Japan. You've probably seen the pictures of them performing/destroying. Musically, Hijokaidan is incredibly abstract, unpredictable, and above all, harsh. They utilize a variety of ways to make their noise, ranging from traditional rock instruments to pedal based power electronics to bloodcurdling screams to random objects to breaking everything. And then we have Esplendor Geométrico. While lesser known than Hijokaidan, Esplendor Geométrico are probably just as important to industrial/noise music. They hail from Spain and create rhythmic, pulsing soundscapes, many times accompanied by samples, distorted vocals, and power electronics. Think SPK but more hypnotic. Honestly, Esplendor Geométrico are everything I love about first wave industrial/noise perfectly packaged together in one band.

With those things in mind, imagine mashing the two together. Structured rhythms collide with pure chaos, resulting in some truly horrifying and perfectly executed industrial. Despite the fact that these bands have both been around for over 30 years, this material doesn't feel stale or dated; they've managed to keep things on the edge. You can clearly hear them playing with old sounds, but it doesn't feel as though they're just rehashing. Plus, this is a live recording, so both bands are at their most volatile, delivering totally caustic, hostile blasts of noise annihilation. Brace yourself.

Monday, 7 September 2015

This band was one of the best modern powerviolence bands, and sadly -- in part due to their short lifespan -- they were also one of the most overlooked and underrated. I mentioned them in my review of the Triac / Sacridose split as being "west coast powerviolence saviors," and they really were. In the sea of cheap imitators and wannabes (or should I say the Sea Of Shit...), Lie Still managed to keep things fresh and dangerous. And I guess it certainly didn't hurt that members had previously played in the legendary bands Benümb and Lack Of Interest.

Lie Still's music wasn't a huge break from the classic powerviolence formula, but they still stood out among their primarily mediocre peers. Their success (musically) stems from their ability to channel uncontrollable intensity into a focused blast. Most contemporary powerviolence bands fall flat because they can't reproduce the pure aggression of the old WCPV bands (plus they steal Crossed Out riffs and have ill fitting production and do the goofy football coach vocals and can't seem to write compelling music). Lie Still had no problem with this (or any of those other things I mentioned in the previous parenthetical). Their riffs were in that sweet spot between powerviolence and grind, where it's got a heavy edge but is undeniably punk as fuck, the vocals unreasonably angry, the drumming tight and driving. Unfortunately, they burned out too soon and left us with only 11 songs in 7 minutes. I was lucky enough to catch them on what I believe was their only east coast tour; it was with Triac -- what a fucking combo.

If you want some of the most badass, truly fucked up powerviolence that's come out in recent years, this is a must. Listen and destroy.